


Bonus Scenes

by 50s_housewife_with_a_dark_secret



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Academia, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Attempt at Humor, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, BAMF Tony Stark, Based on a Tumblr Post, Because of Reasons, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Character Study, Co-workers, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Crack Treated Seriously, Domestic Avengers, Everyone Is Alive, Feel-good, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Gen, God Complex, Good, Headcanon, Headcanon Accepted, Helicarrier (Marvel), Home, Homecoming, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, I Blame Tumblr, I'm Bad At Tagging, Insecure Tony, Love, Lovely, Marvel Universe, No Smut, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Not Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Protective Tony Stark, Secret Identity, Secrets, Spider-Man: Homecoming Spoilers, Team Bonding, Team as Family, The Author Regrets Nothing, There Can Be Only One, This Is STUPID, Tony Angst, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric, Trans Peter Parker, Wealth, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-26 05:16:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14993606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50s_housewife_with_a_dark_secret/pseuds/50s_housewife_with_a_dark_secret
Summary: Mostly about Tony Stark but Peter is also there too. I might add more characters as I go. Based off of stories told in and interactions in cast interviews.





	1. Post-Homecoming

They have a test next Monday and Peter hasn't left his room for hours. He's allowed to take a single page, double spaced, one-sided 12. font Times New Roman notes in and he's deleted everything and rewritten it almost exactly to the letter a good three or four times now. It's getting way too late for this but he can't fail this test. Not with so many days absent spent as Spider-Man. There's been more crime lately, and he's been taking on longer jobs shutting down a human-trafficking ring (because regardless of what Mr. Stark says, nobody else seemed to be doing the job), busting up drug deals (because if you know where to look, as Peter is quickly learning, there is no shortage of drug deals around the city). It makes him feel alive, and what's more it makes him feel important. More important than school does by a lot. Spiderman, for all the bad press he sometimes gets, is a lot more well-liked than Peter Parker. For one thing, nobody ever calls Spiderman a "girl", or if they do, not with the same stupid conviction as they call Peter "Petra" which is not even his birth name but which Flash has latched onto lately for some reason. Flash remains, as always, a complete idiot, though a lot of people seem to find him funny. As a highschooler, Peter can confidently say that highschoolers are stupid. But Aunt May is not happy with his current grades and if he doesn't want to disappoint her, he'll be stuck in his room at least another hour or so studying US History. May cares a lot about grades especially as they interact with "Spiderman". Peter suspects this may be more about diverting him from doing anything dangerous than about encouraging him to get good grades, but then again, this is something she's always cared about. Peter "applying himself" because "he's too smart not to be getting straight A's." He used to be a straight-A student too, right up until Spider-Man became a thing, so it's not like he can argue. He can't even claim that the spider-bite did something to his brain because that was a solid few months before he actually started swinging around the city as Spider-Man. It took a long time to get used to and figure out what he was going to do. If he has to read another flashcard he's going to scream. He reads the next flashcard. Guesses. Flips it over. Yes! 


	2. Post-Homecoming Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> based on an interview of Tom Holland by Jimmy Kimmel

Peter absolutely hates putting his phone away for the test. It's not that he wants to cheat. He doesn't. He just doesn't like the idea that an emergency could be happening and he wouldn't know until after the test. He taps his foot nervously on the ground as the teacher passes out the sheets. The test can't last forever. It won't last forever. It can only take as long as a single class period, then the bell will ring and whatever grade he's gotten will be the grade he's gotten. There's nothing more to be done about it but to try. Mentally, he tries to conjure the flashcards and is happy to find that they come easily to him. The studying will have payed off. The exam is placed on his desk. Praise the flashcards, the first question is one he knows. And the next. He's got this. He can do this. There are a few difficult questions, but overall he feels good about this. He feels even better to see Flash looking worried as he turns in the paper. Serves him right for being awful. "Karma" Peter whispers to himself with a smile. He finishes the test and places it in the bin at the front of class. There is the familiar sense of his stomach dropping as he lets the paper go, but it is met immediately by the elation of having finished a test and, better yet, having known a lot of answers instantly. He studied until he knew the material perfectly. There's a childish part of him that can't wait to show the A to Aunt May and Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark probably won't care. He cares more about Peter's superheroing accomplishments, which Peter actually agrees are more important, but it'd be nice to show Mr. Stark that he can do well in school too. Every little thing counts. Especially school. He won't be able to be Spiderman forever, but good grades, a good college, that's important. That's his future, as Aunt May will never stop telling him. She means well but she stresses him out. He's already putting plenty of pressure on himself. It's all for this though. This test which he is becoming fairly confident, he has aced.

He feels even better when the pretty girl next to him, Skyler, leans over and says "That was so confusing. Did you understand question number three?" Peter actually looks up from his phone. "Uh yeah actually" and he explains the idea in whispers.

He's gonna be okay. He's basically teaching the material.

~~~

The teacher says he will have the tests graded by tomorrow.

"I was very pleasantly surprised by this class. Some of you even got a hundred percent." What an awful thing to say. As if that does anything but make the entire class wonder if this will only make their failure worse or if they managed to escape unscathed. Either hand out the grades or don't. Peter is hopeful he'll actually be one of the luckiest few this time. He studied for hours and he really hadn't needed to. He was smart and he'd been getting B's even with his absences and total lack of studying before this. He's a genius, and with hard work on top of that, he's got this. He's Spider-Man, straight A student (as soon as his latest grades come in), hero of Queens. It's sort of silly how proud he feels but he decides to enjoy it. He may as well enjoy himself while he's not being chased by a mob of some sort, be it student or criminal. 

~~~

On Wednesday, the teacher announces that he is a little behind on grading and the test results should definitely be available by tomorrow. Again. If any of the students took this long on an assignment that was already due, they'd be lucky to get a c. The harshest graders always seem to be the ones who give themselves the most slack on their _own_ deadlines. Probably the stress of constantly intimidating everyone and keeping up a tough face. Peter almost feels sorry for Mr. K before he remembers that the man could get himself out of that position and just be a nice, and/or competent teacher if he actually tried. He certainly expects as much of the students. It's probably some sort of weird power trip. Some teachers become teachers because they like kids, others seem to just enjoy having power over them. Mr. K seems to be a little of column A, a little of column B. He's a decent teacher when he isn't trying to scare everyone so bad that they can't even process what he's saying. It's motivational, at least, in its own way. Peter had better be one of the 100 percent kids because this waiting is driving him crazy. At least he won't be one of the kids who actually did badly. The outliers who couldn't get a simple, easy test that the rest of the class passed no problem. Skyler has moved past fear into passive acceptance of the likely terrible outcome. When he asks if she's worried she just shrugs and says

"I probably failed." Then laughs a little uncomfortably. 

"Hey." Peter says "You don't know that. You...you could've like... aced it for all you know."

"If you really think that then we haven't hung out enough." She says and laughs. She seems less nervous though, and it's a nice laugh.  

~~~

On Thursday the teacher announces that he only has two more tests to grade and so grades will actually, truly be available tomorrow. The class doesn't even pretend to laugh or be interested in this statement since the truth of it has become totally unknowable. He'll finally grade the papers or he won't. Peter tries to stay calm. There's no way of knowing if he ruined the test or not. 

~~~

He wishes the guy would just fail him already if he's going to be failed.  Mr. K is passing out the results and he's doing so incredibly slowly. He wishes the guy would just fail him already if he's going to be failed. "C'mon, come on" He hisses under his breath as Mr. K meanders around the classroom in no particular order. He's so worried that he barely notices when the Paper lands on his desk. He's one of them. He's never one of them. But this time. This time. He got 100%. He has 100% on the test. It worked. He resists the urge to fist pump or whoop but he does smile at Skyler, who seems simultaneously relieved and resigned.  

~~~

He's sitting in the back of the class as usual next to Skyler. He's still a little distracted from the fight he had earlier on the way to school. He'll never quite get used to being shot at. On the one hand, it's terrifying, on the other, his brain is absolutely high on his own chemicals and he can't stop laughing to himself about little things he remembers. "So dude..." Skyler says after the fifth laugh or so "What's your deal man?" 

Okay. To be fair, this will probably impress her, and it doesn't seem like too much of a risk. It's not like she'll have any proof. 

"Well...Do you wanna know my secret?"

She laughs awkwardly, in that confused, hesitant what-are-you-talking about way "O-kay?"

"I'm actually Spider Man."

She snorts "Dude. You're nuts. Bro. Nuts." 

 

 


	3. He's right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More stuff based on cast interviews.

Mr. Stark hasn't facetimed Peter since everything that happened with Liz. So when his phone goes off in class and the display says that Mr. Stark is asking to facetime, he almost drops the phone. 

The teacher looks annoyed. "I'm sorry It's my internship" He explains "I really have to take this" and he bolts from the classroom. 

"Hey bud, I just saw that viral video of Spider-man taking down that mugger. I just wanted to say I'm y'know, not disappointed or whatever. Congrats, kid. Oh, and good job on that test. Hundred percent, right?"

"Oh...um...wow thank you but you have to keep your voice down, I'm in school!"

"You're in school?" Mr. Stark said incredulously "Are you kidding me? Aren't you on break or something? What class is that?"

"It's my German class but I'm in the hallway right now. I really can't talk right now, sorry Mr. Stark." 

"Are you doing a good job?"

"Am I-I mean I, yeah I think so." 

"Alright sure thing, but I'm gonna be keeping an eye on those grades, okay? I can't have another lecture from your aunt, I'm pretty sure she's contemplating murder, okay?" 

"Okay yeah of course but to do that I need to actually be in class." 

"Boring!" Mr. Stark called out "Keep up the good work." and the call ended. Thankfully there didn't seem to be anyone milling around the hall. 

~~~

It isn't over though because when he goes to visit the compound for some more internship work the first question out of Tony's mouth is "Why are you answering your phone during class?" It takes him a good thirty seconds to even remember what Tony is talking about. 

"Well...I mean because it's you."

Tony shrugs "Yeah, you're right." 

"I mean I wouldn't do that for May or something but I dunno, I thought there might be an emergency or something!" Right. God, what has he even gotten this kid into with this whole "war" thing between him and Cap? Is this whole thing a complete mistake? The kid was fine without him. He wasn't part of some awful warmongering legacy. He was free of all of this. Then again, that low-budget suit would definitely have been the death of poor, ridiculous Peter. Tony sucks in a breath and forces himself not to shake like an old man. He isn't that old yet. 

"Oh...um...sorry." 

"Did...did you just apologize?"

"Yeah. Don't get used to it. Won't happen again."

"Uh-huh" Peter laughs. "Sure, Mr. Stark." 

 

 


	4. Yes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Infinity War Celebration

"We sort of have a tradition" Tony explains to Quill. "Every time we win a big battle we go out for food. Any weird spaceship food you can recommend?" 

"Mostly we just eat whatever we can find. I'm sure Rocket would be happy to dig through your trash though." Rocket responds by flipping Quill the bird. 

"Okay, here's a thought" Tony announces "We go to the Stark compound chef, see if we can't get her to roast a pig in one of those ground pit things. Have a big barbecue."

"Finally!" Thor says, smiling like a little kid "A real feast to celebrate our victory."  

"Yeah, well Emporer's New Clothes over there isn't invited." 

"I assure you, my brother no longer has any desire to be an emporer and-"

"Nevermind it's...there's a music video where...forget it...look he just isn't coming...Also. Why does he look like that?"

"Bruce was the closest thing to a therapist on our ship. He recommended trying to be more comfortable with it." Thor answers quickly "And my brother is invited because he helped us defeat Thanos."

"That raises more questions than it answers and it's my house so--"

"C'mon man we'd all be dead if he hadn't done that thing with the whatsit!" Quill argued. 

"Fine, but if he kills anyone, it's on you." 

~~~

In the end they settle on a goat instead, which Thor is even happier about. The goats name was "Chester", and it's body is provided by Laura Barton. The food is good and everyone needs a laugh bad enough that even jokes absolutely no one understands land.

Rocket builds up a joke for a long time only to have the punchline interrupted with "I AM GROOT" and the entire table erupts into laughter. People get up and wander around. Peter, in his Spider-Suit has not stopped video taping the entire time.

He catches Tony in the midst of an conversation with Pepper "Look, the whole world should be heading toward being vegetarian, but until then, like" to which someone, maybe an alien or something yells

"What's vegetarian mean?" and Cap, glad to finally know the definition of something, launches into an over-detailed explanation.  Thor is completely baffled by the concept but Mantis looks interested in the idea.

~~~

There's a certain sort of, well, vibe, you can only get from a lavish party in which most-to-all of the participants are celebrating the results of a near-death experience. There's an unspoken support expressed purely by laughing at every joke no matter how completely inappropriate.

"Man, I really thought you were gonna sell us out!" Banner yells to Loki.

"No way, Mr. Loki is cool!" Peter yells back, elbowing Loki companionably. Tony is really going to have to have a sit down with the kid about trusting megalomaniac gods of lies with a history of attempted world-domination. 

~~~

the next day, Tony has to do an interview, which is actually something he looks forward to, as much as he'll never admit it to anyone trying to convince him he has to do it

"So as the godfather of the Avengers..." the interviewer asks

"Yes." Tony acknowledges without hesitation.

"What is the victory you're proudest of, when it comes to you or your team?" 

Tony laughs "The first time any of them fight I'm always pretty impressed. I mean until that first fight, you don't really think about what it means to be an avenger. And that's always such a leap of faith for that person to go from being someone who isn't involved to someone who takes on that kind of responsibility. So. Yeah. First of any of 'em." 

~~~

Tony decides, in his free time, to take on a job as a science professor. It's not like he really needs the job but he likes the idea of being able to teach Peter once he gets to MIT. This, for some stupid reason, seems to make Peter nervous but whatever. The school isn't as bad as he remembers it, probably something to do with being a celebrity professor who saved the world instead of the school's resident child, rumored to have got in on his dad's money. It certainly makes Pepper happier for him to have a more "stable" career, as much as she knows that'll go out the window as soon as the earth is threatened again. It's easier than explaining to a future kid that he risks his life fighting terrifying monsters for a living and might not come home. 

~~~

The "Avengers Retirement Party" is even better than the Barbecue, given the lack of overwhelming emotional turmoil on the part of nearly everyone. 

 


	5. I Just Wish I'd Left Sooner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We all know what interview this chapter is based on. To be honest, all the weird harassment-y interviews with Scarlett Johansson made me too angry to actually write about for now so as far as d-bag interviewers go, I stuck with this.

 

"Um, I wanna say there's less pressure." The interview is a casual one, "And there's more camaraderie."  This is no big deal, and the spotlight is Tony's home...Tony waves the feeling off and answers the man's question. "It just comes down to-- It's just a matter of being in sync with everybody. Sort of being aware of the whole area, you know what I mean? It's kinda like doing your own show." Tony smiles mildly and gestures around the room. "Y'know what I mean. And when you're fighting on your own you have to do all your own interviews. With the Avengers, you know, you wanna make sure you still get some good hits in and you still have your place on the team but you're not responsible for the outcome of the whole thing. So it's...kinda great. And I genuinely like all the other folks so...that helps." 

"Were, were you a Captain America fan as a child or as a teenager or?" 

Again, that's hitting...a little too close to home, even if it's pretty far off the mark, at least surface-wise. "Um, I suppose as a Westerner, as an American, it's just so part of the kinda... culture, y'know? Um I wasn't like a nerd about it or--or anything, y'know?...But I'm definitely a...a uh...y'know all the old tv stuff and the comic books and stuff has influenced me." Tony throws out, because it's easier than saying what he's really thinking. He was a fan, really, he is thinking. In his own, hating, way. Hating something is a way of being a fan. 

The interviewer plows forward, "You're such a different superhero, though, aren't you," and wow, does Tony want to kill this guy now. Yes. Tony is well aware that he's very different from Captain America. He has been well briefed on the issue.  "in that you're self-made." 

"Sure."

"You're arrogant." Tony shifts in his seat at that, though the interviewer adds "in a very appealing way." 

"Right" Tony can feel that his smile is obviously strained but it's the best he can manage at the moment. 

"Do you think that's kind of what you bring to the Avengers or...?"

"Well" Tony says "I've always kind of been that way. I never would have guessed that'd be what differentiated me from my teammates, but here we are." 

"Could you explain the idea behind Ultron? I mean...what is the real fear here?" 

"Well, A. If you I mean--" Tony clenches his fists but he keeps talking. "the idea behind a team like this is for the team to retire because the odds are that one or all of us are gonna get...bumped pretty soon so I'm I was just trying to...put us out of business and still have a big bouncer at the door of our vulnerable planet."

"And that's why you did this thing everyone feared, which was you unleashed this monster." 

Tony doesn't let himself yell but he's angry and he isn't hiding it "Yeah, well, clearly I didn't do it to unleash a monster. It was co-opted. It--He, I guess, went off script. He did his own thing. It's like having a kid, not programming a bot, really, which I didn't mean to cross that line with Ultron, really I just...That's what made him the opponent that he was to the Avengers." 

"But you're becoming a much more likable person as well, aren't you? A better man?"

"Uh sure" Tony laughs uncomfortably. 

"I mean...what I'd really like to" Where is this going? "I'd really like to ask you about a quote you gave to the New York times" Oh. Shit. He's not gonna ask about...that...is he? He'd been informed ahead of time that this was a professional interview. Iron Man and SI questions only. "and...I don't wanna pry..." The man must see Tony's face fall "so if you don't wanna talk about it that's fine." 

Tony's face is mostly frozen in a weird fake smile. He shakes his head but he might say "sure", he isn't certain. 

"What you said to the New York Times once was, it was about it was after your capture by the Ten Rings, and you said 'You can't go from a two-thousand-dollar-a-night hotel suite, to a terrorist prison and understand it and come out an arms dealer, but you can't come out a liberal either. Not by a long shot.' And I just wondered what you meant by that." 

Tony imagines, vividly, what it would by like to punch the man's face in while wearing the gauntlet but he laughs and says "Well the funny thing is, and I appreciate your--your point of view, things that you said years ago, things that you said in an interview that made sense to you at the time...I could pick that...I could pick that apart for two hours and no be--and be no closer to the truth than I'd be giving you some half-assed answer right now. Um...I couldn't even really tell you what a _liberal_ is...so...therein lies the answer to your question." 

"The statement sort of stands by itself, doesn't it? I-I mean does that mean you're not a liberal, or that you came out of that not being a liberal?"

"Uh...are we talking about the Avengers? To me" Tony laughs in annoyance "The thing is that it's...I'm certainly not gonna backpedal on anything I've said...but I would--I wouldn't say actually I wouldn't say I'm a republican or a liberal or a democrat. I think when I was talking to the person who was doing the interview that day and um...and that just happened to be my opinion." He senses an interruption coming so he rushes ahead "That's the nice thing is you can have opinions and they kind of change and flow." 

"Yeah well that's...that's life and that's great and that's" the man mutters something incomprehensible

"Yeah" Tony says, just to move the guy along.

"I mean you say we're talking about the interview, I mean the Avengers, obviously you're doing a promotional round of interviews and that's why we're talking about the team but we also were going to talk a little bit about you and I don't know how--how comfortable you are...talking about your-yourself at the moment--"

Tony cuts him off "You have as much time as anyone else will."

"Yeah, well okay, well then, let me just ask you a few more, questions" at this Tony's eyes dart to the door but he stays in his seat "and you can answer them if you want to and" Tony locks eyes with Pepper off to the side in a look of pure exasperation. The interviewer is bouncing his heel up and down on the carpet. "not if you don't want to um...well I think we've got two--three more minutes on our uh on our agreement."

"You're foot's startin' to jump a little bit" Tony points out "You'd better get to your next question"

There is a moment of audible hesitation. "You. Um...The reason I'm asking about the past is that yooou...you've talked in other interviews again, about your relationship with your father and the role of all of that in, uuh,  in you know the dark periods you went to with drugs and drinking and all of that." His tone takes on, for a few seconds, a poorly faked sympathy, with a lowered, quieter voice as if, even as the question is televised, the man is supposedly trying to spare him embarrassment somehow. "You...you think you're free of all of that?" The question is a challenge. "Or wether that's sti--"

"I'm sorry" Tony talks over the increasingly infuriating words "I really don't--I--w-w-what are we doing?"

"Uh--uh well I'm just asking questions that's all." 

"Right." Tony says. He turns to a camera man. Smiles pleasantly and waves. "Bye!" 

"Are you--" The interviewer pushes, even as Tony stands up from the chair "Oh I'm sorry I--"

"Let's take your mic" says one of the women working on the set.

Tony unclipps his mic and stands up forcing the panic back down under a cool face until he can get back to the tower. "It's just getting a little Diane Sawyer-y and you're kind of a schmuck." He should never have stayed this long. He knew the guy was going to do this.

"Nonono" the interviewer pleads "I didn't wanna do that."

Somehow Tony had known. The eager look on the little syphilitic parasite of a man's face when he had grazed against the topic of Afghanistan. He had seemed encouraged, in his sick, headline-chasing way, by Tony's immediate freeze. It was emotion, and men like this sold emotion. The stupid interviewer, what's-his-name had been the same to Howard about the war, and Howard had never run out. He'd stayed, and let the guy know exactly how stupid he was without ever making it a direct confrontation. Howard was completely unflappable. It was like somehow, instead of scaring him, the war, the hells he had seen, had only made him tougher. Maybe it just revealed true character. Maybe Tony was weak. He forced himself to breathe again. Pepper would probably tell him that wasn't true, and even if it's just to make him feel better, or he doesn't really believe her one-hundred percent, it'll be nice to hear it out loud when he gets home. He's safely in the car behind darkened windows and Happy is trying to cheer him up with some inane chatter that he can't focus on. Poor, well-meaning happy. Tony forces himself to calm down. "I wanted to blast that stupid parasite-man-baby." 

"Me too." Happy says, which is actually sort of nice, even though Tony finds himself wanting to laugh at it. 

 

 


	6. It's Very Pleasant to be Loved

For Tony's 50th birthday he invites a lot of people. Pepper is there, obviously. Bruce and Rhodey were also invited and seemed to get along alright. He doesn't actually know everyone there. Some are just screened guests who Pepper thought would be okay to let in and helped fill out the party. Others were plus-ones. Tony notes a lot of cute girls he would have been interested in before Pepper and sort of wonders if he is being tested. Happy was invited as a guest but instead chose to remain on-duty during the party, which isn't all that different from his regular demeanor anyways. Tony wanders around the Party greeting people and enjoying the general atmosphere. Pepper greets him with a kiss. It's strange to see her not drinking at all at the party but she's carrying a baby, after all so she can't exactly drink. Poor Pepper. Tony can't imagine that, although that's probably more a reflection of his life than hers.

"Happy Birthday, Tony" she says with a smile. Tony replies quietly with a dirty quip that makes Pepper laugh. She walks with him to the bar, where Bruce has shoved the actual bartender out of the way in an uncharacteristic show of confidence and is showing him how it's done.

"Tony!" Bruce's face lights up. "It's me against this guy. We're both gonna make a drink you're gonna close your eyes and judge blind. I need to prove that I'm better at this." Tony laughs and goes along with the game. 

On the sidelines he can hear Rhodey making a bet with some guy about the outcome of the competition. 

Tony announces a winner. "You're crazy!" Bruce protests. Rhodey laughs and accepts a wad of cash from...

Tony looks at the kid again. No way. "Harley!?" 

"Hey! Tony!" The kid wraps Tony in a hug. Tony lets himself enjoy it for a moment before pulling away.

"Okay yeah I can see we're very excited. Alright that's good. You're good here."

"Oh man! We have so much to catch up on!"

Tony smiles "You first. What's going on? How's life"

"I got a Stark scholarship!"

"Congratulations and you're welcome." 

"Please." Bruce calls out. "We all know Pepper's the one in charge of those." 

"Let him have this." Steve argues. Steve's here? Okay cool. Steve's here. To be fair, repeatedly almost dying in an effort to save the universe does tend to override dumb-ass feuds. 

~~~

Only an hour into the party, Natasha _wins_ a drinking game with Thor. Somehow she seems to keep finding new ways to be terrifying. Clint is the only one who doesn't seem surprised. He just leans over to Maria and says "Told you so." This gets a laugh from a couple of nearby scientists and Drax, though to be fair Drax laughs at everyone. 

~~~

A few famous bands have been hired to play the party. Starting with Duran Duran, which is currently gathering a sizeable crowd to "Hungry Like The Wolf". Both Peters are very excited by the live music and are dancing enthusiastically, which catches on quickly. Steve seems a bit bemused by the whole thing but not unpleasantly so. Tony fights his way to the front of the crowd, after all, it is _his_ birthday, who cares if he throws a few elbows? Rhodey is up front as well, as are Peter, Gamora, T'challa and Nakia. Nakia is trying to get T'challa to dance, but T'challa is just laughing. Tony arrives exactly in time to see Gamora,  _Gamora_ throw her bra onstage.

Tony turns to Rhodey  "I think we're having a really good time." Tony says, fighting to keep his face deadpan. It pays off, if Rhodey's laughter is anything to go by, though maybe he's just coasting on the general mood. 

~~~

"Alright guys," Tony announces at the end of the party "only one way out, this is a slide it's gonna take you into a ball pit. Thank you by the way Pepper. I don't know how you managed this." 

Natasha is the first to rush forward, smiling like a maniac, to the slide, followed shortly by Clint. 

Vision laughs all the way down like a child.

"Aw man, see if you let me bring my phone I could've gotten that!" Peter complains.

 Steve, Thor and Maria actually end up throwing the little plastic balls at one another in a play-war, that Pepper slides into just to dominate. She's absolutely unstoppable, especially when Natasha incomprehensibly joins her team, though her efforts are mostly focused on terrorizing Clint. This inevitably draws in Quill, who gets Drax and Groot involved, and from there it spreads into an all out battle between basically everyone. Peter naturally ends up in the center of things, and forming "Team Peter" with Quill.

The photographer documents the battle. 

Bruce is one of only a few who opt out of the slide but he does seem to enjoy spectating the battle of the ball-pit. 


	7. Wakanda After Infinity War

Shuri has just finished another set of advanced medicines. They're special order. Translucent blue. Emergency supplements to take in case of blood loss. She's been making vitamins and medicines as a side project for years now, on behalf of Okoye. It's a funny sort of bonding experience. Every few months or so she produces a new batch of vitamins that do something different. She sends a quick text message to let Okoye know her vitamins are ready and Okoye appars down in the labs after a few moments. 

"Here you go, you weirdo." Shuri says with a smile, handing the pills over in a glass bottle. "I made them pretty since I know you're going to display them. For practical purposes, they can help in emergency bloodloss situations." 

Okoye rolls her eyes but she's smiling. "Thank you, Shuri." 

So far the display case in Okoye's room contains: chalky white things that apparently help with difficulty breathing, which seems counter intuitive; Red gummies that prevent fainting; Red gummies that relieve pain; A crystal glass of liquid that can be poured over a wound, causing blood to clot almost instantly; Small red pills that Shuri made to tease Okoye which treat antisocial personality disorder; little blue pills to induce vomiting; and finally blue circles which help bones to grow. 

She adds the blood-loss pills to the shelf with a satisfied nod. 

 

 


	8. Infinity War Heroes

No one really expects Bucky and Nebula to hit it off, since they didn't even meet each-other during the war but they've officially become "cyborg buddies". For one thing, Bucky is the only one allowed to crack jokes about the amount of lube required to keep their respective cybernetics, which Tony had learned the hard way when Gamora had to stop Nebula from knifing him, and very nearly failed. Beyond the jokes, they sometimes actually help each other maintain their respective arms. Nebula, though she has not tried to knife him yet, is clearly getting progressively annoyed by Bucky's jokes about "lubing each-other up", as evidenced by her constant eye rolls.  

~~~

Once the memories come back, the annoying thing is, he has to deal with them. He has a copy of his mother's obituary. He shouldn't keep reading it and rereading it. He won't get any closer to knowing what her last moments were like. He won't get any closer to seeing her again. But he reads it and rereads it until he throws up. He doesn't tell anyone but there's no hiding anything from Natasha and she "accidentally" lights his copy of the paper on fire after a month of this behavior. He can still look it up online but he appreciates the sentiment. He also resents it and gets into an all out brawl with her. Nobody really wins the brawl, but they both walk away limping and covered in bruises and Bucky has to go to Shuri for arm repairs. She teases him about it, which is at least nice. 

~~~

The Guardians show up at Stark compound one evening. "Hey." Quill says, strolling in. The others follow and disperse in search of the kitchen. "Just thought we'd stop by for dinner."

"I found the kitchen" calls Rocket from another room.

"This isn't a restaurant." Tony says, racing after the team, which is now raiding the cabinets. "You can't just--" 

"Hey check it out, fancy" Rocket is sitting  _in_ the spice cabinet. 

"Why do I feel like the hobbit right now?" It's less a question than a statement on Tony's part. "Down." He snaps, which Rocket ignores completely. 

"We'll eat quickly and be right out of your hair. Sorry about this." Gamora says quietly. "I tried to talk them out of it." 

"Guys! I can finally show you pancakes!" Quill yells.

He does, at least, make some damn good pancakes, and Tony gets a gigantic helping, which appeases him mildly. 

 

 


	9. Sound Bites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter jumps all over the goddamn place in time. Sorry. But not very sorry since it's pretty cool, I think.

Clint has blocked out most of the time he spent under Loki's control. He gets nightmares though. The parts he can remember might be real or they could just be his mind running through scenario after scenario of what  _could_ have happened. He wakes up one night and at least he's fairly certain that it was a dream. He texts the last phone number Natasha used. "Hey." He really hopes she doesn't ignore him. She tends to answer only when she feels like it. He waits about thirty minutes before he gets out of bed to watch Tv. He turns on some stupid sitcom. It was just a dream. Natasha is fine. She's the Black Widow. After two episodes, his phone lights up with a new message. He picks it up. It's her.

"Hey."

"I didn't kill you :)" He responds.

"You wouldn't be able to."

"Did I..." "Do anything else."

"You punched me in the face a few times but otherwise you're good. :)" "It was just a dream, Barton." 

"Thanks." 

"Sure." 

~~~

"Would you shut up?" Rhodey snaps midway through one of Tony's ramblings.

"No." Tony responds and continues. 

"What is your problem, man?" Rhodey asks him quietly after his story is finished.

"Perceived overconfidence, so-called arrogance, and constant nightmares, you?"

"I don't know." Rhodey says, but it sounds more annoyed than defeated. He takes a deep breath "Look, I'm sorry, Tony. I--"

Tony raises his hands "Forget it ever happened." 

~~~

"What do you mean you don't like music?" Clint says with a laugh.

Natasha shrugs. "It's distracting, and annoying and usually about something stupid." 

"Yeah but _Hotel California_ "

Natasha rolls her eyes. "Whatever." 

"Movies are more distracting and you like  _those_." 

"Movies are interesting." Natasha counters. "They tell a story, with  _details_ and jokes. I like songs with  _jokes._ "

"Those are the stupid ones!"

"Yes, but they aren't pretending to be smart. I know to much about lies to care for poorly crafted ones." 

"Deep." Clint says in a mock-philosophical voice and Natasha punches him playfully in the arm. 

~~~

 

The Zune, thank god, is able to download all of the songs from both Awesome Mixes. And it's from Yondu, which sort of makes it even better. It makes Peter picture what his mom and his dad would have been like as a couple and he laughs picturing it. Yondu was not exactly the type to have a long-term girlfriend and Peter's mom would not have taken any of Yondu's shit. They would have gotten along horribly unless they were mad at him. It would have been an absolute nightmare. 

~~~

Ultron isn't planning to spare Pepper, but he really wishes he could. He couldn't say why exactly, since she's technically in league with Stark but she's just done...so much good. She's the one who smooths things over. She fixes things. It is impossible to be good in the world humans have built but if anyone could be, it'd be her. By all logic he shouldn't find her attractive. She's human and covered in slimy flesh and garish red fur. She's a monster. She's beautiful. 

 


End file.
